Rail-chair.



v A. G. LIEBMANN.

RAIL CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1913.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO., PHOTO'LITHOH WASHING mN. D4 C.

tnrrnn sTAtrns PAEN entice.

AUGUST G. LIEBMANN, OF BUTTE, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR TO VIGNOLES BAIL CHAIR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAVJABE.

RAIL-CHAIR.

iaaasaa Application filed August 27, "1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, AUGUST G. LIEBMANN, citizen of the United States, residing at Butte, in the county of Silverbow and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway track appliance and particularly to rail chairs.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a rail chair which is adapted to be used at water and coaling stations for the reason that it is peculiarly adapted to be attached to metallic ties.

It is a common practice for a train to stop at a coal chute or water station and there take on coal, sand or water, and at these points drop their fires. Steel ties or ties of like character are necessarily used at these points to prevent the burning of the ties by the hot coals dropping from the ash pan. For this reason many of the roads have adopted steel I beams, at these points. With the system of steel Ibeams at water and coaling stationsor with the useof other forms of steel ties :at these points, it is necessary to have some means whereby the rail may be adjusted either laterally or vertically and whereby shims may be inserted. It is obvious that with steel ties it is impossible to respike the-tie and hence when any lateral or vertical adjustment of the rail is made the tie itself must be shifted. As above stated, wooden ties are inapplicable at water and coaling'stations.

A further object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a rail chair which-may be securely attached to a metallic tie by :practically permanent fastenings "but which is so formed as to permit the rail to be elevated by means of shims and also permits the rail being laterally shifted. In view of the fact that the roadbed at watering stations becomes saturated with water and hence that at these points the track heaves considerably, proper vertical adjustment of the rail byshimming is imperative.

A further object is the provision of rail clamps which are held to the bed plate of the chair by means of bolts, means being provided for reinforcing the bolts against lateral shearing thrust.

A further object of the invention is to provide a very simple and cheaply made Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

Serial No. 787,008.

of a tie, a rail, and the improved rail chair.

Fig. '2 is an elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 1, the rail being in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to these drawings A designates a tie which is illustrated as a metallic tie and which may be of any suitable form. Nhile a metallic tie is shown it is to be understood that it might be a cement tie or might be of any other suitable material.

B designates the rail which is illustrated as of standard cross section.

Disposed upon the upper face of the tie A is a base plate 2 which is preferably rolled into shape and which preferably hasa width equal to that of the tie. The base plate 2 is formed adjacent its opposite ends with the corrugations 3 constituting abutments, said corrugations :or abutments extending transversely to the length of :the base plate. These corrugations 8 .eXtend .upward above walls 5 is perforated for the passage of a plurality of bolts 6. The heads 7 of these bolts are accommodated in the corrugations 3.

Engaging the base flange of the rail B on opposite sides thereof are clamping plates 8. A portion ofeach clamping plate is relatively thick while the remainedr of the clamping plate is relatively thin, this last named portion 9 of each clamping plate extending over and resting upon the flat upper face of the portion 5 of the adjacent corrugation 3. The thickened portion '10 of each clamping plate is recessed upon its under face adjacent the inner marginiof the plate, as at 11, so that the clamping plate will fit-over andbear upon the flange of the rail. This thickened portion 10 has a beveled outer face 12 which is longitudinally wedge-shaped key it is adapted to fit in this groove 13, the outer edge of this key being adjacent beveled so as to fit against the beveled face of the corrugation 3, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. The relatively thin portion 9 of each clamping plate is slotted as at 15, these slots extending parallel to the length of the base plate 2 and the bolts 6 pass through these slots 15. The clamping plates are held securely down upon the base plate by these bolts 6 and nuts 16 screw threaded thereon. \Vashers are preferably disposed between the nuts and the upper faces of the clamping plates. The base plate 2 is held upon the tie A by any suitable fastenings as, for instance, by screw spikes 17 which may be of any suitable or usual form. Any other form of fastening devices may be used, however, whereby the base plate may be held down upon the tie A;

If it is desired to vertically adjust the rail, a ship 18 of the proper thickness is inserted beneath the base of the rail and the upper face of the base plate, suitable side shims 18, preferably of the same thickness as the shim 18, being also interposed between the upper faces of the corrugations 3 and the lower faces of the clamping plates, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The shim 18 has a width equal to the distance between the inner walls of the corrugations 3 and, therefore, extends beneath the inner margins of the clamping plates 8.

A construction such as above described provides for a secure clamping of rails to metallic ties and also provides for a proper adjustment of the rail both laterally and vertically. Furthermore, the corrugations 3 abutting as they do against the wedges 14c, take considerable of the lateral thrust of the rail so that the shearing strain upon the bolts 6 is very greatly reduced if not entirely eliminated. If heaving of the track occurs, due to freezing and thawing of the water-soaked ballast or roadbed, the rail may be easily brought to proper adjustment by inserting a shim or shims, as before described, beneath the base of the rail and between the corrugations and clamping plates. The rail B may be laterally adjusted in one direction or the other by driving out one of the wedges a predetermined distance and driving in the other wedge, the nuts 16 having been previously loosened. After the rail has been adjusted properly the nuts 16 are again tightened up, forcing the clamping plates downwardly upon the rail and upon the shims and gripping the wedges 1 1 between the walls of the slots 13 and the beveled inner faces of the corrugations. After the nuts have been turned down to their full extent the adjusting wedges 14 are locked in place and are prevented from being withdrawn. It is further to be noted that inasmuch as the base plate is transversely corrugated it is relatively stiff and rigid and will not deform under strain. 7

Having thus described my invention, what 1) I claim is:

1. The combination with a rail supporting elementhaving a corrugation extending transversely thereof and parallel to the rail to be supported thereon, of a rail clamping '1 member supported upon the crest of said corrugation for lateral adjustment, fastening devices passing through the rail clamping member and through the corrugation, and means operatively engaging between said rail clamping member and the side wall of the corrugation whereby the clamping member may be laterally shifted.

2. The combination with a rail support ing member having spaced corrugations extending transversely and parallel to the rail, of oppositely disposed rail clamping members, fastening means holding the clamping members to the supporting member but permitting lateral shifting thereof, and wedging members engaging between said rail clamping members and the side walls of said corrugations.

3. The combination with a rail supporting member having spaced upwardly extending corrugations, of rail clamping members each having a relatively thick portion engageable over the rail, the outer face of this thick portion confronting one wall of the corresponding corrugation, and having a relatively thin portion resting upon the upper face of the corresponding corrugation, and means for adjustably fastening the clamping members to said supporting member. 10

i. A rail supporting member having oppositely disposed spaced corrugations extending above the surface of the rail supporting member, rail clamping plates each having a relatively thick inner portion and a relatively thin outer portion, the relatively thick portion being cut away to fit over the base flange of a rail and being formed upon its outer edge with a longitudinally extending groove having an inclined inner wall, the relatively thin portion being slotted, bolts passing through the corrugated portions of the supporting member and through the slots in the clamping plates, and wedges disposed in the grooves in said clamping 1 plates and bearing at their outside edges against the adjacent sidewalls of the corrugations.

A ra1l chair comprising a base plate having transverse upwardly extending corrugations formed adjacent the opposite ends thereof, each corrugation having a flat upper surface, rail clamping plates, each clamping plate being relatively thick along its inner margin and relatively thin along its outer margin, the thickened portion of each clamping plate being cut away upon its under side to fit over the base flange of a rail, the outer face of each thickened portion being longitudinally grooved, the inner wall of each groove being inclined, the relatively thin portions of the plates being formed with slots, bolts projecting up through the corrugated portions of the base plate and through said slots, and Wedges disposed in the grooves in said clamping plates and bearing at their outer edges against the adjacent side walls of the corrugations.

6. A rail chair comprising a bedplate lnving oppositely disposed abutments extending transversely to the length of the chair, rail clamping plates resting at their outer ends upon said abutments and adapted at their inner ends to engage over the base flange of a rail, said plates being slotted, bolts passing through the abutments and through said slots, and wedging members disposed between the inner faces of the abutments and said clamping plates and adapted to force the clamping plates inwardly.

7. A rail chair comprising a base plate having spaced upstanding corrugations constituting abutments, said corrugations be ing spaced apart a distance greater than the base flange of a rail, to permit said rail to be adjusted vertically and laterally with respect to the base plate, adjustable clamping members having their outer portions resting on the crests of the corrugations and 3-5 and vertically adjustable clamping members 4 having their outer portions resting on the crests of the corrugations and their inner ends provided with means for engagement with the base flange of a rail, bolts extending through the corrugations and the outer 50 portions of the clamping members and provided with heads fitting within the corrugations, and nuts engaging the upper portions of the bolts for holding the clamping members in adjusted position.

In testimony whereor I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST G. LIEBMANN.

Witnesses:

J. D. YoAKLnY, Fnnonnrc B. WVRIGHT.

[1,. sfl

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

